Anti-Israel Protests on College Campuses Face Bipartisan Criticism
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the nation are drawing scorn and heightened criticism of higher education from across the spectrum.
From the Left: A writer in the Daily Beast (Left bias) argued the left-wing protests are a “profoundly incompetent, self-serving, narcissistic strategy that will probably set back many left-wing policy goals for the foreseeable future—including the cause for Palestinian self-determination.” The writer went on to tie the recent protests to a string of behaviors from a branch of the “far-left movement,” arguing some within the group have regularly “engaged in unnecessarily divisive behavior toward anyone who disagrees with their methods.” An article in Slate (Left bias) highlighted the Jewish Americans protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza, calling for the pro-Israel camp to “stop weaponizing our grief over our lost friends and family in Israel; stop genocide in our name.”
From the Right: A writer in the Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) argued, “The team that claims it cherishes ‘inclusivity’ and ‘diversity’ more than anything else has embraced Hamas and its mission to annihilate a marginalized group.” Questioning the stated values of the “social justice crowd,” the writer asks, “how are they cheering actual war crimes, holding vigils for actual terrorists, and engaging in the most stridently antisemitic and fascistic behavior and rhetoric this side of World War II?” The writer determines, “Everything the social ‘justice’ crowd has told us about working for a more peaceable and inclusive tomorrow has been a lie.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
The Far Left Is Clueless to the Damage Its Pro-Hamas Messaging Is Doing to the Progressive MovementWhen Hamas, a violent, oppressive, antisemitic, theocratic organization with the stated mission of destroying Israel, intentionally murdered more than 1,400 people—mostly innocent civilians, in addition to many foreign nationals—and took a few hundred hostage, including babies and the elderly, there was only one rational response to this particular incident. Hamas is a reprehensible terrorist group, targeting innocent civilians is always wrong, and Hamas is not synonymous with innocent Palestinian civilians.
Regardless of where you fall on the Israel-Palestine conflict (and I have complicated thoughts on it myself), this should have...
From the Center
US colleges become flashpoints for protests over Israel-Hamas warAt Columbia University on Thursday, two groups of hundreds of students tensely faced each other in dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, while university officials blocked public access to the New York City campus as a safety measure.
Supporters of Palestinians, many of whom wore face masks to hide their identities, held signs in a grassy area near a library that read "Free Palestine" and "To Exist is to Resist." About 100 feet (30 meters) away, students backing Israel silently held up posters with the faces of Israeli hostages taken by...
From the Right
Everything the social justice crowd told us was a lieEverything the social justice crowd has said for the past 15 years has been a lie.
The movement gained a foothold in American culture around 2008, riding a wave of popular reexaminations of race relations, political divisions, and systemic disparities. It styled itself as an honorable call to right the wrongs of society, both historical and contemporaneous.
The past three weeks, however, have served as definitive proof that the benevolent emperor is a naked tyrant. The warriors for the oppressed are not so noble and selfless as they claim. Neither...
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